Hey, I am an 18 year old guy from the Bay Area in California and need help deciding on a car. Currently my family has a 2008 mini cooper s, a 2000 MB ml320, a '60's MB 230SL, a 1999 BMW 540i sport 6-speed manual (with m body kit), and a 2002 BMW X5 4.4i sport. The plan is for me to take the X5 to college but it is way more car than I need to transport 1 person who rarely, if ever, needs a utility vehicle. Kelly Blue Book says the X5 is worth around $23k. Which BMW is best to replace it with in that price bracket ( + or - ~$3k). I am looking for a fun car, ideally an e46 M3, that I can take to the track or autocross events, but one that isn't too powerful for an 18 year old and is easy on insurance. I am also looking to eventually upgrade the car aesthetically and possibly performance wise.

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!!

Hey jhietter if you are still out there what did you end up doing? What car did you buy! I hope we didn't scare you off!!

nah.... of course not (certainly hope not, anyway!) Just that with no input from the original poster from the get-go, at this late point we're down to just exchanging opinions amongst ourselves, and long past where continuing the discussion might be meaningful to the originator of the thread (not that it isn't continuing to be meaningful for the rest of us, although I think the question has been addressed by now). I hope he found the discussion either helpful or insightful.

nah.... of course not (certainly hope not, anyway!) Just that with no input from the original poster from the get-go, at this late point we're down to just exchanging opinions amongst ourselves, and long past where continuing the discussion might be meaningful to the originator of the thread (not that it isn't continuing to be meaningful for the rest of us, although I think the question has been addressed by now). I hope he found the discussion either helpful or insightful.

Well at least it might be helpful for any other 18 year old looking to buy a Bimmer. At least I'd hope so...

I'm kind of pushing that way for a good daily driver that can still haul ass for cheap...

Err, they're not cheap at all! These cars are expensive. The Subie is cheaper, but both are massively turbocharged fours, so don't expect to get any kind of fuel economy at all. I had a friend who had a WRX regular (non STI [not as big of a turbo]) and only got 240 miles to a tank! Surely you can get decent economy if you really tried, but then that would defeat the purpose of the car in the first place.

(Besides, the WRX understeers. Trust me, I've tried it! )
I'm not even going to mention the Evo, with a price tag that's the same as a 335i with 10k miles. Nuh uh.

Like with everything else, everyone has an opinion. But the folks who said "E30" or "E36" were right on the money. But without making too many assumptions (ha!), let's look at the facts.
1. this young man posted his question, bragging about his parents' stable, and has not been heard from since.
2. did you actually look at the list? A 60's MB 230SL? My dream car? This is clearly not a family on a budget.
3. if he was planning to take the X5 to college, his parents must be funding him quite well to afford the gas, insurance, etc.
4. he says he wants to take an e46 m3 to the track and autocross, but does not indicate any prior experience with either

It would be easy for me to assume that this kid has way too much money to play with than he deserves. It would also be easy for me to assume that the parents are quite disconnected from the process, since I, as the parent, would be making these sorts of decisions with my child's input (disclaimer: I'm not a parent), and NOT the other way around. So I won't say that.

But seriously, this question comes up quite frequently when I am instructing at Street Survival. Regrettably, most parents, ignorant of cars and driving, buy into the hype that airbags and overpowered new cars are the way to go. As such, it's very difficult to convince them why an E30 is the perfect car for their child. Perhaps the impending financial doom combined with high gas prices (that have fallen 15% since the peak while crude has fallen 40%), some parents may rethink their previous assumptions.

Like with everything else, everyone has an opinion. But the folks who said "E30" or "E36" were right on the money. But without making too many assumptions (ha!), let's look at the facts.
1. this young man posted his question, bragging about his parents' stable, and has not been heard from since.
2. did you actually look at the list? A 60's MB 230SL? My dream car? This is clearly not a family on a budget.
3. if he was planning to take the X5 to college, his parents must be funding him quite well to afford the gas, insurance, etc.
4. he says he wants to take an e46 m3 to the track and autocross, but does not indicate any prior experience with either

It would be easy for me to assume that this kid has way too much money to play with than he deserves. It would also be easy for me to assume that the parents are quite disconnected from the process, since I, as the parent, would be making these sorts of decisions with my child's input (disclaimer: I'm not a parent), and NOT the other way around. So I won't say that.

But seriously, this question comes up quite frequently when I am instructing at Street Survival. Regrettably, most parents, ignorant of cars and driving, buy into the hype that airbags and overpowered new cars are the way to go. As such, it's very difficult to convince them why an E30 is the perfect car for their child. Perhaps the impending financial doom combined with high gas prices (that have fallen 15% since the peak while crude has fallen 40%), some parents may rethink their previous assumptions.

Well, I think you got it about right! Like I said before, I got my start in a diesel VW! While it was a little (okay a lot) underpowered and I wouldn't recommend it. It certainly served me well and kept me out of trouble, for the most part! It was a great car for college, I got 40mpg and diesel was about 99 cents a gallon then!

Err, they're not cheap at all! These cars are expensive. The Subie is cheaper, but both are massively turbocharged fours, so don't expect to get any kind of fuel economy at all. I had a friend who had a WRX regular (non STI [not as big of a turbo]) and only got 240 miles to a tank! Surely you can get decent economy if you really tried, but then that would defeat the purpose of the car in the first place.

(Besides, the WRX understeers. Trust me, I've tried it! )
I'm not even going to mention the Evo, with a price tag that's the same as a 335i with 10k miles. Nuh uh.

Well obviously I'd be looking at maybe an 8 or a early 9 so the price range would be from mid to low 20's and as I'm selling the E30 that's pretty much over half the cost covered there. Economy isn't that high on the list for me over fun factor, if that was the case I would just be content with driving the Toyota we have lying around. Besides the way I drive sometimes even the Toyota doesn't get me good fuel mileage. And by the way Evo > and Subaru Thanks though for the advice.

Is money no object for you??? First you look to buy a dedicated track car (and considered a 1 series!) and then you want to buy an Evo? I wish I was rich.

Well I am selling the M3 it's not like I'm just buying it out of nowhere. And as for the 1 series, I was getting a little ahead of myself there. If I was going to buy that I would have sold the Toyota and the 2002 but it just wasn't worth it. I might have to end up selling the Toyota for the Evo anyway. And it wasn't going to be a dedicated track car, it would have to be able to pull double duty. You made it sound as if I was a rich snob.

Sorry 'bout that, didn't want it to sound like you're a rich snob. I just know that there are people that really are that rich and I always wondered what it would be like to not have to worry about "what car can I afford if mine dies?".

If I had the money, I'd probably get something similar, such as a MazdaSpeed 6, Evo IX, or if I had extra extra cash, an E30 M3 with an S52 swap in showroom condition.

Sorry 'bout that, didn't want it to sound like you're a rich snob. I just know that there are people that really are that rich and I always wondered what it would be like to not have to worry about "what car can I afford if mine dies?".

If I had the money, I'd probably get something similar, such as a MazdaSpeed 6, Evo IX, or if I had extra extra cash, an E30 M3 with an S52 swap in showroom condition.

(You don't wanna sell me your M3, do ya?)

If you want to drive all the way to California to get it, plus afford a water pump. Your last choice is the best except I would go for the 2.5 stroker motor they had in the Sport Evolution models. I think I would kill myself with that much power in such a light car. And my uncle just sold his truck and bought a Mazda 6! Not a speed 6 though, I'm still confused as to why he didn't